Play dramatizes Iraqi refugees

The one-woman show starring Kim Schultz tells the stories of some of the estimated 4 million Iraqis who are refugees or internally displaced.

But "No Place Called Home" also is a love story in which Schultz falls in love with an Iraqi refugee named Omar while in Syria talking to a displaced Iraqi artist.

The love story is true. Omar currently lives in Syria.

"I will just say it's complicated," Schultz says when asked about the status of her relationship with Omar.

The relationship becomes a part of Schultz's story as she spends three weeks in the countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria talking to refugees.

Schultz says that "No Place Called Home" tells the stories of those refugees. She went to the region and interviewed Iraqis. The play features 12 characters.

Advertisement

"Nine are real people and three are composite characters," Schultz says.

The New York-based nongovernmental organization Intersections International hired her to write a play about the Iraq refugee crisis that occurred after the United States' 2003 invasion of that country.

Schultz says that 2 million Iraqis have fled the war-torn county since 2003. They live in such neighboring countries as Jordan and Syria. A few also immigrated to the West, and some reside in Michiana.

Schultz says that 2 million additional Iraqis are internally displaced.

Her one-woman play seeks to raise awareness at a time when Americans appear ready to turn the page on the Iraq war. On Friday, she'll perform "No Place Called Home" at Holy Cross College for an event sponsored by the Iraqi Student Project of Michiana as a fundraiser to support Iraqi students attending area colleges.

The war was always controversial, and now American troops are leaving Iraq. Schultz says that the country's attention has been diverted by the war in Afghanistan, as well as crises in places such as Haiti, Japan, Egypt and Libya.

The last thing that many Americans want to do is put their focus back on Iraq, but Schultz believes that American policy created the Iraqi refugee crisis, and it's wrong for people in this country to walk away.

The need is high, Schultz says.

"But the money is decreasing and it's hard for organizations like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to help all the people," she says.

Refugees living in Jordan and Syria can't work, and they live in enclave communities where they struggle to survive on dwindling international support.

Schultz says the goal of her play is to get people to focus on individuals rather than the 4 million faceless refugees.

She does this by telling the stories in the voices of Iraqis. She adopts an Iraqi accent and tells stories of people who fled the country after seeing scenes of extreme violence.

Schultz says the subjects are artists, parents, students and just normal people.

"We can't forget about these people because they are real people like us," she says, "and they are suffering because of us."

Kim Schultz performs the one-woman play “No Place Called Home” at 7 p.m. Friday at the Holy Cross College Auditorium, Vincent Hall. Tickets are $25-$10. This event is sponsored by the Iraqi Student Project of Michiana and is a fundraiser to support Iraqi students attending area colleges. For more information, send an e-mail to isp_southbend@comcast.net.